7:00 P.M. Lee Safety Complex, 20 George Bennett Road
APPROVED AUGUST 8, 2017
members present: Emily Schmalzer (Brentwood), Cynthia Kelsey (Deerfield), Al Hall (Candia), Mary Ann Krebs, Anne Lightbody, Dick Lord (Durham), Joe Foley (Epping), Kitty Miller (Lee), Carolyn Matthews (Raymond)
staff present: Laurel Cox, Jim MacCartney, Suzanne Petersen
members absent: Elizabeth Dudley (excused), Sharon Meeker (excused), Preston Samuel (excused), Michelle Shattuck (excused), Deb McNelly (excused)
Meeting began at 7:05.
summary of motions:
Carolyn Matthews made a motion to approve and send the project review letter drafted by the workgroup chair regarding above-ground storage tanks at the Newmarket WWTF. Anne Lightbody seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
Dick Lord made a motion to accept the Ad-Cetera proposal for graphic design and printing 100 copies of the 20 Year Progress Report with a not-to-exceed amount of $5000. Al Hall seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
Dick Lord made a motion to approve the FY2018 budget as presented. Anne Lightbody seconded. Motion passed unanimously among the five W&S representatives present.
approval of minutes from May 9, 2017:
Carolyn Matthews made a motion to approve the minutes as presented. Cynthia Kelsey seconded. Minutes were approved with 8 yes votes and 1 abstention.
financial report:
Normal activity was reported for checking account activity and book sales.
workgroup updates:
outreach, recreation, and history: Please see notes attached at end.
project review:
An application for above-ground storage tanks at the Newmarket Wastewater treatment Facility was received after the scheduled project review meeting. The workgroup chair crafted a letter citing NHDES standards and a request for improvements for weather protection of a flat-topped tank. Carolyn Matthews made a motion to approve and send the project review letter drafted by the workgroup chair regarding above-ground storage tanks at the Newmarket WWTF. Anne Lightbody seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
water quality:
The group did not meet in May due to scheduling conflicts, but will meet in June.
wildlife:
The main discussion centered on how to use the stream crossing data, maps, and report prepared by Fitzgerald Environmental. The full committee should discuss what would like to see as a plan for outreach to the communities and how to engage at least one to improve a problematic stream crossing. Money is available for targeted outreach in the current budget and extra could be set aside next year to help a town with an actual project. A few details need to be worked out: Do we have photos of each site or are they at least available through Fitzgerald? How do these data compare with the data by NHGS; do the two sets need to be utilized simultaneously?
grants:
May 13 statewide LAC workshop highlights:
Mast Road Natural Area grand-opening, Epping, May 20:
This 531 acre parcel was conserved by SELT with significant funding from LRAC W&S. The site was abused and neglected in the recent past, but SELT has removed tons of waste, rehabilitated wetlands, created a nice walking path, and has enabled the site to revert to a beautiful natural area encompassing diverse habitats for several threatened species.
LRAC 20 Years of Progress Report:
A solicitation for bids was sent to three local graphic design and printing entities. One bid was received from a person with whom the committee has worked before and who has shown herself to be very accommodating to the committee’s many requests. Dick Lord made a motion to accept the Ad-Cetera proposal for graphic design and printing 100 copies of the 20 Year Progress Report with a not-to-exceed amount of $5000. Al Hall seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
other:
summer meetings: The group agreed by consensus not to meet in July. Next meeting will be August 8.
The Partnership W&S Rivers will gather in July to exchange ideas, discuss matters of concern, and learn about visual resource assessment.
Stream crossing report needs to be utilized.
The current budget includes $3500 for outreach to communities on this topic. This could be done by Colin Lawson who has experience in this area.
The committee might want to consider setting aside $5000 in next year’s budget to help a town with a stream crossing project that benefits the town’s infrastructure as well as improving connectivity for aquatic organisms.
First steps might include asking towns to identify the 5 or 10 most problematic stream crossings in town so that we can see if any have potential for aquatic organism passage grants. It will be important to work within each town’s political/cultural structure. Getting conservation commission buy-in might be important in some towns to get the buy-in of town leaders.
Proposed FY2018 budget prepared by Jim MacCartney was shared with all in the form of a detailed spreadsheet pertinent to each workgroup, a simplified overall budget, and a budget narrative. The overall amount is $99,000, which is $9000 more than last year. Dick Lord made a motion to approve the FY2018 budget as presented. Anne Lightbody seconded. Motion passed unanimously among the five W&S representatives present.
Schoppmeyer Park easement paperwork was signed on June 9.
Representatives were encouraged to share outreach offerings with their local libraries.
The LRWA has a new executive director- Christos Tsiamis. He should be a strong advocate for wildlife and recreation.
LRWA activities:
Fun Float at the Raymond Town Beach, August 12
river-wide clean-up day, September 16
The Raymond Triathlon will be held on September 9 and includes a paddle off the town beach.
adjournment:
Al Hall made a motion to adjourn. Dick Lord seconded. Meeting was adjourned at 8:07.
ATTACHMENTS:
Outreach, Recreation, & History Workgroup Meeting Notes
June 7, 2017
present: Preston Samuel, Dick Lord, Mary Ann Krebs, Sharon Meeker, Suzanne Petersen
Rec:
potential activities/projects:
canoe passage work with TU update:
Contract is still being negotiated and tweaked. No details available about preliminary work (obstruction final survey and plan of action, contact with landowners). Suzanne will contact Jim for any updates.
trails:
Schoppmeyer Park update:
Current easement draft includes boilerplate language limiting size of signage. Is a kiosk a sign? Does kiosk framework count as part of the sign size? The issue is being sorted out by lawyers from the town and the church. Easement signing will take place June 9.
history:
outreach:
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